Merry Happy and all that Jazz

Holy Cow it's almost Christmas

I don't know where the time goes but it does.  The calendar reveals tomorrow is December 24, Christmas Eve and here I am still have not posted all the Christmas array in the home and am I ready?  Nah, well yes.  Jerry reminds me it is just us and so what.  And so that meant I was free to take it easy and not  overly concern myself about  things.  I have always been someone who operates at maximum when there is a deadline, otherwise I meander and this is just the perfect word for this holiday season.  It is just  the two of us, Jerry & me.  We have no family around here other than his mother whom we have determined is better left in the nursing home than being here with us Christmas Day or Eve.  I made one last trip to the grocery store today awaiting inspiration for what to have for ourselves for Christmas Day dinner. While I did get inspiration at the Festival seafood counter, I have never seen so many Grinches at one place since I left CA.  Oh all the faces with such downturned mouths. People, hey remember it's Christmas!  One woman and I pulled our carts aside and breathed deeply commenting, "what are we doing here?"  We both had  only a few things to do and wished each other Merry Christmas and went along our ways, amongst them. 

Sometimes in CA when we were not hosting family  gatherings, we'd go out to brunch with another couple or two, enjoyed bloody Mary's and then later for dinner had grilled cheese sandwiches.  Well that worked, but around here the people we know are all with families and hunkered in.  Really we should have moved to a Sun City retirement villa amongst other empty nesters and enjoying it!  But bah humbug here we are. Tomorrow, Christmas eve after early candlelight church service, (no way can I make it to midnight mass!, well not and enjoy a glass of wine or two with dinner!)  we will have my famous Polish mushroom soup (Grandma Rose's recipe) and shrimp cocktails and sauerkraut pierogies.  This will link back to my Polish childhood traditional Christmas Eve  meatless suppers with a twist.  We never had shrimp cocktails then.  But it's a new  world with new and different  traditions in the making.  Christmas Day looks like New York steaks and lobster tails!  These are good quality meals for two people.  Meantime, before the holiday has totally run by I share the rest of my 2010 limited Christmas decor. 

Brocade Santa with Kitty Musical
Notice the little girl hiding beneath Santa's beard...




Brocade Carolers

 





Only one of our many churches out this year
with one of  hundreds of angels

 
The carolers were a new acquisition in 2004, the year I kind of retired but was still on the books for 5 months, running all that time out I had accumulated and could never use by taking vacations while working.  We were here in MN for part of the holiday and then headed south to Louisiana to be with friends. Oh that was the kind of winter we envisioned from now on, being on the go!  What happened to that vision, life interfered with all the obligations and duties. From La. our first Christmas in the south, where they had record freezing temperatures, we went back to California to continue to clear out.  When I was back in January the Department of Health called me and begged my help running interview panels to replace the likes of so many of us who had retired at high levels, leaving the place lacking for top management replacements.  Well being a sucker I agreed, but after one week and  3 days of early 4:30 AM risings to catch that commuter bus into downtown Sacramento, I got good hold of myself. This was  why I wanted to retire!  I would do no more.  I wanted to be done with the curtain calls, it was not fun and I was no way amused.  It was not my problem the state had imposed perpetual hiring freezes and now did not have talent to fill behind us.  In the words of a long time ago auditee who knew his organization was in deep doo doo as we departed, "Good luck, Beeill!" You had to be there to  know about this one.  Ahh  this makes me shudder just thinking about it.  Onto more holiday decor today.  The tiny bear couple on the floor have been with us for 20 Christmases.  Little did we expect to have the preponderance of  bears among us, though this couple appears only for Christmas.

The scene in front of the living room window
looks something like this.  More there now
but this  photo was taken  weeks ago.



Randy the Reindeer Ranch Elf



You saw the elves on a previous post. One you did not see was Randy, the dude from Reindeer Ranch, Newcastle, CA.  He lives outside the Christmas closet all year long and mingles with the teddy bears, but the Patriots in the Americana room have been bending his ears all year and encouraging him to be with "his own kind"  taunting him that  elves don't usually associate with bears.  Randy was created by a Newcastle friend  down to the bells on his toes in about 1991.  She taught special education children and made  similar creatures to tell tales to the kids.  I considered  not bringing him to MN but he insisted that this was Nordic territory something to which he was more accustomed, so along he came.  Generally he is content to sit on the rocking chair in the Patriotic room, but this year he  became anxious.  He reminds me of the trolls in stories I grew up hearing, the trolls who lived beneath bridges and preyed on unsuspecting wandering children.  Well Randy got gumption from listening to those Patriot Bears this year and while I was busy elsewhere he began to instigate the elves to insist on an elfin Christmas here in the home, I was in the doldrums, the blahs or the humbugs and Randy insisted I shake it.  Little by little I put out some decorations and tried to set the festivities of the season in order.  Randy figured it was time for an elfin reunion and so that is how they came to congregate for 2010.  Randy is feeling quite smug, but what he does not know is that he may be relegated to the Christmas closet now with his elfin pals when the holidays are done.  After all if he can let the bears influence him, perhaps it's best if he joins the elves who do good deeds.  Than Randy can perhaps shed some of his trollness.   


Rockin' musical Reoindeer,  1940's Red  Elf and new MN Elf

Fritz and Floyd Elves










1940's Elf

  

1950's Elf Band

This is my excuse for a tree upstairs on our hearth, silver tinsel wreath adorns  coat hangers clipped together and adorned with white lights and golden pieces.  Dorothy Wiedeman, an elderly local lady made this five years ago and donated it to  the church's 's white elephant sale.  No one was bidding and so trying to get something started I bid $5, you can see I won.  I think this is the last year I will store it.  The  Jack Frost Scarecrow/ snowman next to the tree also plugs in and lights. He was made in CA by an elderly lady who sold her ceramics every year at the Auburn Christmas Fair. Each year I purchased something from her.  One year it was a lovely ceramic tree adorned with animals of all sorts and tiny lights.  I gave that to the grandkids and hope their mother did not discard it, because it was quite lovely.   I loved  Jack Frost Scarecrow  at first sight and have enjoyed bringing him out occasionally on holiday time.  He is holding a small tree and I love his golden touches with the creamy glaze all over. He reminds me of the tales of Jack Frost but is far more elegant. 





The old lamp lighter of long long ago,,,,,he made the world a little brighter,
wherever he would go,,,,,Remember that song?

 

One of our French Bronze with brass container of greenery and candle.

Pointsettia platter with sleigh riders 
 and lamplighter

  

Our newest Nativity set, on upstairs mantel. It is  Royal Doulton, which I  understand is now being made in China.  Jerry picked this one up in  2005 at my  urging and it may be one of the last non Chinese made.  Regardless of the theme of my decor, I always have at least two nativity sets on display, commemorating the real reason why we celebrate.

This year I decided to spread some more holiday cheer downstairs over Jerry's objections.  If I had the blahs this year he had a double dose.  So I thought that some tinsel would tackle the darkness and proceeded.  If one tinsel tree was good surely two more  on the window sill would be better to reflect the sunshine off the white snow banks outside.  And what good is a little tinsel without more glamour.  Jerry used to ice skate when he grew up here, so I thought a bit of reminder by way of a  small village p;anaroma on a side immediately downstairs would be just the thing. 

1980's hand crafted Santa



New England Panorama

Blogspot is resisting adjustments, realignments and  further posting so this will be the holiday cheer from  our home and holiday greeting to all of you.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night, good weekend, and all that jazz!